Reducing the risk of fire in your office is good not only for your business productivity and employee safety, but it may also lead to low commercial insurance rates. The more risks your office faces, the higher your business insurance rates are likely to be. Here are some of the measures that will help you reduce the risk of fire in the office:
Install and Maintain Smoke Detectors
Professionally installed smoke detectors will help you identify small fires before they can cause serious damage. Just don't install the detectors and forget about them; test them regularly to ensure they are operational. Otherwise, you can find yourself with smoke detectors that can't sound an alarm because their batteries are dead and you don't know about it.
Get Rid Of Clutter
There are three main reasons why reducing clutter reduces the risk of fire and fire damage:
- Combustible clutter, such as carelessly discarded paper or books, can easily catch fire
- Clutter helps accelerate the spread of fire during an outbreak
- Clutter may make it difficult to get to an extinguisher or get to safety during a fire outbreak
Have Separate Places for Combustibles
If you have to work with combustibles in your workplace, have a dedicated storage area for them. Things like fuel, glue, paint, and others can easily catch fire if they are carelessly stored or if they are mixed with other combustible materials.
Ensure Extinguishers Are Readily Accessible
A fire extinguisher can help get rid of small fires before they can cause serious damage, but only if it is accessible. There are places where fire extinguishers are hidden behind file cabinets or cupboards, and they can't be easily reached during an emergency. That is not the way to go if you want your fire extinguisher to be useful; ensure the extinguishers are accessible at all times.
Ensure Electrical Wiring and Installations Are Safe
Electrical malfunctions can easily cause electrical fires and burn down your business place. Therefore, ensure your electrical wiring, lighting fixtures, outlets, and all electrical installations are professionally installed. Also, ensure that electrical defects or malfunctions are promptly fixed.
Train Your Staff on Fire Prevention
Lastly, you need to have a fire protection policy in place and train your workers in fire mitigation practices. It's also good to have refresher training sessions once in a while and even commission fire drills to keep your workers on their toes as far as the risk of fire is concerned.
Protect your company by following all of the above tips. Make sure that you work with a business insurance company, like Insurance Unlimited, to make sure that your company is properly covered in regards to fires and all other possible damage that could happen to your office.
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